Armando Cuko aims for UMass football kicking mark

Associated PressUMass' Armando Cuko kicks a field goal as Scott Woodward holds during the game against Albany in Amherst.AMHERST – A long field goal is just as long in the Football Championship Subdivision as in the NFL.
This year alone, Armando Cuko has made six of them from 40 yards or more, one from 51.
That is not making the University of Massachusetts senior’s path to the NFL any easier, a situation he is taking in stride.
“If you focus on the NFL too much, you can lose sight of your next kick,”‘ said Cuko, who could become the school’s all-time field goal kicker Saturday at home against James Madison.
With 30 career 3-pointers, Cuko is tied for the UMass record with Silvio Bonvini, whose mark has lasted since 1988.
With two games left, Cuko already owns the school single season record with 18. He has missed only five times this year.
His average of 2.25 field goals per game leads all FCS kickers. He has kicked three in a game five times.
Yet interest from NFL scouts remains oddly tepid. Why?
For one thing, it’s a tight job market. Only 32 jobs exist.
“It’s a lot different with kickers,” UMass coach Kevin Morris said.
“To get that attention, you’ve got to be flat-out off the map. It’s a process that can take years.
“Whenever we talk to a scout, though, we tell him, take a look at our kicker.”
In the meantime, Cuko is rewriting the UMass record book. It’s the latest step in a journey that began in Albania, where Cuko lived until he was 8.
“My dad was a businessman there. Economically, we were doing fine,” said Cuko, 22.
“The political situation there at the time, and concerns about safety, caused us to move to Italy.”
The Cuko family moved to the United States when Armando was 14.
A soccer goalie in Europe, Cuko switched to football as a sophomore at Beverly High School.
“I didn’t like the style of soccer as much (in the U.S.), and I was looking for something to keep me in sports,” he said.
Impressed, UMass later offered him a full scholarship.
“That means you are passing on (giving a scholarship to) a star at another position,” Morris said.
“It’s very unusual for a kicker, especially at (the FCS) level.”
What may be holding Cuko back in the NFL scouts’ eyes are his kickoffs, Morris said.
“He gets it inside the 5, or certainly the 10, every time. He can directionally kick, too, but they like the booming leg into the end zone,” Morris said.
Fortunately, Cuko has more than football going for him.
“He’s a mover and shaker. He’s looking into grad school,” Morris said.
A communications major, Cuko has given football his best shot. Diligent in the weight room, he adheres to a personal, game-day regimen where he loosens up in the shower, and relaxes with tea.
Cuko is not pinning his future on the NFL, but he is also not giving up hope.
“If it comes along, I’ll be grateful for the opportunity,” he said. “I’m working toward it.”